Third Sunday of Advent
Year A. 14 December 2025
INTRODUCTION
Commentator: Good morning/evening. My name is ………. and I would like to wish you a warm welcome to our Mass at Holy Spirit Church, Kurri Kurri/ St Joseph’s, Cessnock/ St Francis Xavier’s Abermain/ St Michael’s, Wollombi/
The priest celebrating with us today is Father James/Father Raphael and assisting him is Deacon Viane.
Gaudete Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, is named from the Introit “Gaudete” (Rejoice!) in Latin. Rose vestments and the pink candle on the Advent wreath signal joyful anticipation as Christmas nears. Please stand for our opening hymn.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
And with your spirit.
LIGHTING OF THE ADVENT CANDLE
Commentator: The Third Sunday of Advent candle is called the “Shepherd’s Candle,” and is pink because rose is a liturgical colour for Joy. Today is also called Gaudete Sunday and is meant to remind us of the joy that the world experienced at the birth of Jesus, as well as the joy that the faithful have reached the midpoint of Advent.
Fr James: Lord Jesus, your coming was foretold by the prophet Isaiah who proclaims 'Look, your God is coming, he is coming to save you.’
All: Come Lord Jesus.
Fr James: Lord Jesus, you come among us now as the light of the world. St James urges us to be patient and not to lose heart, the Lord’s coming will be soon.
All: Come Lord Jesus.
Fr James: Lord Jesus, you will come again in glory and raise the dead to new life.
All: Come Lord Jesus.
Candle of Hope, Candle of Faith and candle of Joy are lit
Let us pray.
O God, who see how your people
faithfully await the feast of the Lord's Nativity,
enable us, we pray,
to attain the joys of so great a salvation
and to celebrate them always
with solemn worship and glad rejoicing.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10
A reading from the prophet Isaiah
God himself will come and save us.
Let the wilderness and the dry-lands exult,
let the wasteland rejoice and bloom,
let it bring forth flowers like the jonquil,
let it rejoice and sing for joy.
The glory of Lebanon is bestowed on it,
the splendour of Carmel and Sharon;
they shall see the glory of the Lord,
the splendour of our God.
Strengthen all weary hands,
steady all trembling knees
and say to all faint hearts,
'Courage! Do not be afraid.
'Look your God is coming,
vengeance is coming,
the retribution of God;
he is coming to save you.'
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
the ears of the deaf unsealed,
then the lame shall leap like a deer
and the tongues of the dumb sing for joy,
for those the Lord has ransomed shall return.
They will come to Zion shouting for joy,
everlasting joy on their faces;
joy and gladness will go with them
and sorrow and lament be ended.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Ps 145:6-10
R. Lord, come and save us.
It is the Lord who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free. R.
It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan. R.
It is the Lord who loves the just
but thwarts the path of the wicked.
The Lord will reign for ever,
Zion's God, from age to age. R.
James 5:7-10
A reading from the letter of St James
You also must be patient; do not lose heart, the Lord's coming will be soon.
Be patient, brothers, until the Lord's coming. Think of a farmer: how patiently he waits for the precious fruit of the ground until it has had the autumn rains and the spring rains! You too have to be patient; do not lose heart, because the Lord's coming will be soon. Do not make complaints against one another, brothers, so as not to be brought to judgement yourselves; the Judge is already to be seen waiting at the gates. For your example, brothers, in submitting with patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
The word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Isaiah 61:1 (Luke 4:18)
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
he sent me to bring Good News to the poor. Alleluia!
Matthew 11:2-11
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?
John in his prison had heard what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for someone else?' Jesus answered, 'Go back and tell John what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life and the Good News is proclaimed to the poor; and happy is the man who does not lose faith in me.'
As the messengers were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John: 'What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Oh no, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: he is the one of whom scripture says: Look, I am going to send my messenger before you; he will prepare your way before you. I tell you solemnly, of all the children born of women, a greater than John the Baptist has never been seen; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he is.'
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
I believe in God,
the Father almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
At the words that follow, up to and including 'the Virgin Mary', all bow.
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried;
he descended into hell;
on the third day he rose again from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;
from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
Presider: God of our joy, our happiness comes from knowing that you love us and are always ready to hear and answer our prayers.
For our Holy Father the Pope, our bishop, priests and religious, that they rejoice in the positive response they receive for their work on our behalf, (pause) In faith we pray:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
For world leaders, that they give joy to their people by their unselfish efforts to promote peace and justice, (pause) In faith we pray:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
For all of us here today, that we make our worship together a true expression of joy in the Lord, (pause) In faith we pray:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
For those who are sad, that they discover the joy of knowing how much God loves them, (pause) In faith we pray:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
That the joy of the Lord's coming may strengthen all pregnant mothers to welcome and nurture the new life God has entrusted to them, we pray to the Lord… (pause) In faith we pray:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
For those addicted to alcohol and drugs and for the victims of abuse and violence, that they experience the joy of freedom from these addictions and traumas, (pause) In faith we pray:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for the recently deceased ……. and for those whose anniversaries occur around this time including ….. that they will take their place at the table of the eternal banquet (pause) In faith we pray:
All: Lord, hear our prayer.
Presider: God of glory, we are joyful and grateful that you have so loved the world that you sent your Son Jesus to save us and renew us. Help us to spread the joy of your love to all whom we meet this week through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the almighty Father.
May the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name, for our good and the good of all his holy Church.
May the sacrifice of our worship, Lord, we pray,
be offered to you unceasingly,
to complete what was begun in sacred mystery
and powerfully accomplish for us your saving work.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right and just.
It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God, through Christ our Lord.
For he assumed at his first coming
the lowliness of human flesh,
and so fulfilled the design you formed long ago,
and opened for us the way to eternal salvation,
that, when he comes again in glory and majesty
and all is at last made manifest,
we who watch for that day
may inherit the great promise
in which now we dare to hope.
And so, with Angels and Archangels,
with Thrones and Dominions,
and with all the hosts and Powers of heaven,
we sing the hymn of your glory,
as without end we acclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Save us, Saviour of the world,
for by your Cross and Resurrection
you have set us free.”
Let us pray.
We implore your mercy, Lord,
that this divine sustenance may cleanse us of our faults
and prepare us for the coming feasts.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Go forth, the Mass is ended.
Thanks be to God.
© The scriptural quotations are taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Co Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. The English translation of the Psalm Responses, the Alleluia and Gospel Verses, and the Lenten Gospel Acclamations, and the Titles, Summaries, and Conclusion of the Readings, from the Lectionary for Mass © 1997, 1981, 1968, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. The prayers are from the English Translation of the Roman Missal © 2010 International Committee on English in the Liturgy Inc. (ICEL). All rights reserved.